Thursday, July 13, 2006

Something Old, Something New

Here's John Bolton's statement on the proposed resolution to condemn Israel's
incursion into Gaza, which I got by email. I've highlighted certain passages
which I think are important.

Statement by Ambassador John R. Bolton, U.S. Permanent Representative to the
United Nations, on Draft Middle East Resolution, at the Security Council, July
13, 2006

Mr. President, we are all aware of the delicate situation in the Middle East,
where new and major developments are unfolding as we speak. In light of the
fluid and volatile nature of events on the ground, the United States believes
this draft Resolution is not only untimely, but already outmoded. We have
just recently witnessed a major escalation by Hizballah. On top of that,
we have the announcement that the Secretary-General will be sending a team to
the region to help resolve the situation. These important new developments
should be reflected in any text we consider.

Not withstanding these new developments, there were many other reasons to
reject this draft. The draft Resolution before the Council was unbalanced. It
placed demands on one side in the Middle East conflict but not the other. This
draft Resolution would have exacerbated tensions in the region and would have
undermined our vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living
side-by-side in peace and security.

Passage would also have undermined the credibility of the Security Council,
which itself must be seen by both sides as an honest broker in the Middle East
conflict. In this regard, public statements of UN officials must also accurately
reflect positions agreed by member governments.

The United States worked hard with other delegations to achieve a more
balanced text, one which acknowledged that Israeli military actions were in
direct response to repeated rocket attacks into Southern Israel from Gaza and
the June 25 abduction of Israeli Defense Force Corporal Gilad Shalit by Hamas.
Regrettably, we were not able to reach consensus.

While we remain gravely concerned about the deterioration of the situation in
the West Bank and Gaza, we remain steadfast in our conviction that the best
way to resolve the immediate crisis is for Hamas to secure the safe and
unconditional release of Corporal Shalit.

Establishing the foundations for a lasting peace, however, will require us to
focus our attention not just on Hamas, but on the state sponsors of terror
who back them -- particularly Syria and Iran. Let us be clear that without
the financial and material support of Damascus and Tehran, Hamas would be
severely crippled in carrying out its terrorist operations. We call upon Syria
and Iran to end their role as state sponsors of terror and unequivocally condemn
the actions of Hamas, including this kidnapping. We yet again call upon Syria
to arrest the Hamas ringleader, Khaled Meshal, who currently resides in
Damascus. We stress again our condemnation of Syrian and Iranian support of
Hizballah, which has claimed responsibility for the other kidnappings along the
Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon.

We further call on the Palestinian Authority government to stop all acts of
violence and terror and comply with the principles enunciated by the Quartet: renounce
terror, recognize Israel, and accept previous obligations and agreements,
including the Roadmap. The failure of the Palestinian Authority government
to take these steps hurts the Palestinian people.

We are obviously concerned about the duration of the present difficulties and
the lack of a solution, but the issue for us is whether action by this Council
makes such a solution more or less likely, not simply whether or not the Council
seems to be "engaged".

The United States remains firmly committed to working with others to
establish the foundations for a lasting peace in the region -- a foundation that
would have been undermined had this draft Resolution passed.

9 Comments:

Kofi of Rwanda is heading to the Mideast to "defuse tensions"? Will this vulgar little twerp wade through the surf of Beirut proclaiming, "I have returned"?

An analogy with this primitive gang's response to the 2004 tsunami might be in order: Weeks passed, American carriers deployed to humanitarian purposes, and finally Annan sent a preening little group to five-star hotels in Malaysia, where they held a one-day conference, complimenting themselves on their intrepidity and fortitude in face of Nature's Wrath, and then dispersed forever. To this day, no-one has heard a single peep.

Bolton should be more, ah, explicit in his recommendations. First and foremost, let's ensure that Kofi and his ilk transfer Headquarters upriver to Togoland by 2012. League, UN... bizarre obstacles to World Peace, abrogating without apology every principle for which they profess(ed) to stand.